China slumped out of World Cup contention before Uzbekistan and Jordan qualified for the first time, taking advantage of Asia getting double the number of guaranteed entries at the first 48-team tournament in North America next year. Asian soccer power South Korea sealed an 11th straight appearance at the men’s World Cup finals with a 2-0 win over Iraq.

On a hectic Thursday night with a lot on the line, Australia are on the verge of qualification after scoring late to edge already-qualified Japan 1-0 before China lost 1-0 to Indonesia. For Uzbekistan, a 0-0 draw against the United Arab Emirates was enough to take the second automatic qualification spot in Group A behind Iran. With Asia now having eight guaranteed qualifiers — after just four for the 2022 edition in Qatar — Uzbekistan was a likely contender to step up. While most of its team plays in the domestic league, it includes a few Europe-based stars like Roma forward Eldor Shomurodov and Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov.

Ali Olwan scored three goals in Jordan’s 3-0 win over Oman as the soon-to-be World Cup debutant built on reaching the final at the 2023 Asian Cup, where it lost to hosts Qatar. Six Asian teams will compete in the next stage for two more places at the 2026 World Cup. The Palestinian team stayed in contention for the top four with a 2-0 win over last-place Kuwait, one point behind fourth-place Oman.

Meanwhile, Ecuador edged closer to one of the direct World Cup spots by maintaining second place in the round robin competition with 24 points after their draw against Brazil. Brazil is in fourth place with 22 points. The top six teams in South America qualify automatically for the World Cup next year in the United States, Canada and Mexico. World Cup champion Argentina, who have already secured its place, beat 10th-place Chile 1-0. Paraguay moved into third spot with 24 points after a 2-0 home win over Uruguay.